Rupert Spira
Rupert Spira | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | March 13, 1960 London, England |
| Occupation | Potter, author, spiritual teacher |
| Genre | Pottery, nonduality |
| Spouse | Ellen Emmet |
| Website | |
| rupertspira | |
Quotation
Rupert Spira /ˈspaɪrə/[citation needed] (born March 13, 1960) is an English teacher of the "direct path", a method of spiritual self-enquiry through talks and writing, and a notable English studio potter with work in public and private collections.
Early life[edit]
Spira was born in London in 1960. He graduated from West Surrey College of Art and took an apprenticeship at Wenford Bridge Pottery.[1]
He first studied with Henry Hammond and later with Michael Cardew at Wenford Bridge Pottery from 1980 to 1982.[2]
Career[edit]
Spira's early wheel-based pottery work reflected these early influences being in a very traditional Bernard Leach utilitarian style. This work is mostly practical in nature, taking the form of teapots, vases, vessels, plates and other culinary ware.
In 1996, he set up his own pottery at Church Farm in Shropshire where his style changed from a functional to a more minimalist, finer, more complex style ranging in size from miniature to large-scale. While he continues to make and sell functional pottery he is now known for this more recent studio pottery. His best and most recognizable work contains poems, both self-written and by Kathleen Raine the celebrated British poet. The poems are either scratched into the glaze in the sgraffito style or written as embossed letters either in a square block or in a single line across the surface of the vessel.[3] These works vary in size from small prayer bowls only a few centimetres across through to huge, open bowls 50 cm or more in diameter. He is also known for his cylinders which are often made as part of a series and while each stands alone, are meant to be exhibited as a group. These also vary in scale from a few centimetres high through to the largest being a meter or more tall. He works in a limited palette, mainly simple white, off-white and black monochromes but he does also occasionally make deep, red-glazed bowls and bright yellow tea sets.[1]
His work appears in many galleries throughout Britain including the Victoria and Albert Museum and Sainsbury collection as well as in many private collections worldwide.
Spiritual teaching[edit]
Spira is a spiritual teacher and writer in the branch of nonduality (Advaita in Sanskrit), exploring the nature of experience in his essays and texts. He has published several books (see below), and a few DVDs with interviews. He holds regular meetings and retreats in the UK, Europe and the US.
He continually works to investigate the nature of mind and reality through his philosophy and pottery. The pottery is the result of the artist's wish to make elegant pieces, in harmony with nature and human awareness.[1]
Other media[edit]
One of his talks about nonduality is included in the video game The Witness.
Personal life[edit]
Spira is married to Ellen Emmet, a therapist and yoga instructor in the non-dual tradition of Kashmir Shaivism. He has a son Matthew. Spira lives and works in Oxford, U.K, and travels internationally to teach non-duality.
Selected public collections[edit]
Books[edit]
- The Transparency of Things, Non-Duality Press, 2008
- Presence: The Art of Peace and Happiness, Non-Duality Press, 2011
- Presence: The Intimacy of all Experience, Non-Duality Press, 2011
- The Ashes of Love, Sahaja Publications, 2016
- The Nature of Consciousness, Sahaja Publications, 2017
- Being Aware of Being Aware, Sahaja Publications, 2017
- A Meditation on I Am, New Harbinger, 2021
- The Essential Self, Sahaja Publications, 2021
References[edit]
External links[edit]
 | Wikimedia Commons has media related to Rupert Spira. |
You Are the Happiness You Seek: Uncovering the Awareness of Being 01/04/2022
by Rupert Spira
( 60 )
$15.80
How may we find happiness and peace?
In this book, Rupert Spira distills the message of all the great religious and spiritual traditions into two essential truths: happiness is the very nature of our self or being, and we share our being with everyone and everything.
Drawing on numerous examples from his own experience, Spira demonstrates that to seek lasting happiness through objects, situations and relationships is destined for failure and disappointment, and skillfully guides the reader to recognize that we are already the happiness we seek.
This book is for anyone who yearns for lasting happiness and is open to the possibility that it is continuously available within ourselves, irrespective of our circumstances.
Could there be any greater discovery in life than to know that we are already that for which we long?
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A Meditation on I Am 01/04/2021
by Rupert Spira
( 195 )
$15.80
“Rupert Spira is one of the great souls. Read his books, and be clarified.”
—Coleman Barks, translator of Rumi, including Soul Fury
A contemplative poem about the intimate, impersonal, infinite nature of being.
In A Meditation on I Am, Rupert Spira contemplates the essential nature of our self before it has been conditioned or qualified by the content of experience. It is a poem, a prayer and a hymn of praise to the simple fact of being that is the source of the peace and happiness for which we long above all else.
For seasoned spiritual seekers and newcomers alike, this meditative poem explores and celebrates the truth of what we essentially are: the awareness of being that shines in each of our minds as the knowledge “I am,” which is temporarily coloured by experience but is never modified, changed or harmed by it.
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Being Aware of Being Aware (The Essence of Meditation Series) 01/11/2017
by Rupert Spira
( 560 )
$11.39
Everybody is aware, all seven billion of us. We are aware of thoughts, feelings, sensations, and perceptions. All people share the experience of being aware, but relatively few people are aware that they are aware. Most people’s lives consist of a flow of thoughts, images, ideas, feelings, sensations, sights, sounds, and so on. Very few people ask, 'What is it that knows this flow of thoughts, feelings, and perceptions? With what am I aware of my experience?'
The knowing of our being—or rather, awareness’s knowing of its own being in us—is our primary, fundamental and most intimate experience. It is in this experience that the peace, happiness and love for which all people long reside. The happiness we have sought so long outside of ourselves, in situations, objects and relationships, turns out to be always present and available in the simple knowing of our own being as it truly is.
The knowing of our own being shines in each of us as the experience ‘I am’ or ‘I am aware’, or simply the knowledge ‘I’. This obvious, familiar and intimate experience has no objective qualities and is, therefore, overlooked or ignored by the majority of people. This overlooking of our own being is the ultimate cause of unhappiness. What is the nature of the experience of being aware or awareness itself? The exploration of this question is the subject matter of this book and the essence of the Direct Path to peace and happiness.
* * *
The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfillment that are inherent within it. Being Aware of Being Aware is the first and introductory volume in The Essence of Meditation Series.
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The Nature of Consciousness: Essays on the Unity of Mind and Matter 01/06/2017
by Rupert Spira, Deepak Chopra, Bernardo Kastrup
( 285 )
$15.76
“I’ve gained deeper understanding listening to Rupert Spira than I have from any other exponent of modern spirituality. Reality is sending us a message we desperately need to hear, and at this moment no messenger surpasses Spira and the transformative words in his essays.”
—Deepak Chopra, author of You Are the Universe, Spiritual Solutions, and Super Brain
Our world culture is founded on the assumption that the Big Bang gave rise to matter, which in time evolved into the world, into which the body was born, inside which a brain appeared, out of which consciousness at some late stage developed. As a result of this “matter model,” most of us believe that consciousness is a property of the body. We feel that it is “I,” this body, that knows or is aware of the world. We believe and feel that the knowing with which we are aware of our experience is located in and shares the limits and destiny of the body. This is the fundamental presumption of mind and matter that underpins almost all our thoughts and feelings and is expressed in our activities and relationships. The Nature of Consciousness suggests that the matter model has outlived its function and is now destroying the very values it once sought to promote.
For many people, the debate as to the ultimate reality of the universe is an academic one, far removed from the concerns and demands of everyday life. After all, life happens independently of our models of it. However, The Nature of Consciousness will clearly show that the materialist paradigm is a philosophy of despair and, as such, the root cause of unhappiness in individuals. It is a philosophy of conflict and, as such, the root cause of hostilities between families, communities, and nations. Far from being abstract and philosophical, its implications touch each one of us directly and intimately.
An exploration of the nature of consciousness has the power to reveal the peace and happiness that truly lie at the heart of experience. Our experience never ceases to change, but the knowing element in all experience—consciousness, or what we call “I”—itself never changes. The knowing with which all experience is known is always the same knowing. Being the common, unchanging element in all experience, consciousness does not share the qualities of any particular experience: it is not qualified, conditioned, or limited by experience. The knowing with which a feeling of loneliness or sorrow is known is the same knowing with which the thought of a friend, the sight of a sunset, or the taste of ice cream is known. Just as a screen is never disturbed by the action in a movie, so consciousness is never disturbed by experience; thus it is inherently peaceful. The peace that is inherent in us—indeed that is us—is not dependent on the situations or conditions we find ourselves in.
In a series of essays that draw you, through your own direct experience, into an exploration of the nature of this knowing element that each of us calls “I,” The Nature of Consciousness posits that consciousness is the fundamental reality of the apparent duality of mind and matter. It shows that the overlooking or ignoring of this reality is the root cause of the existential unhappiness that pervades and motivates most people’s lives, as well as the wider conflicts that exist between communities and nations. Conversely, the book suggests that the recognition of the fundamental reality of consciousness is the first step in the quest for lasting happiness and the foundation for world peace.
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Being Myself
(The Essence of Meditation Series) 01/09/2021
by Rupert Spira
( 115 )
$15.80
Being Myself is a contemplative exploration of the essential nature of our self.
Everyone has the sense of ‘being myself,' but not everyone knows their self clearly. In most cases, our sense of self is mixed up with the content of experience and, as a result, its natural condition of peace and happiness is veiled. Through investigation and analogy, the meditations in this collection take us back to our true nature again and again, until we begin to find our self naturally and effortlessly established there, as that. In time, experience loses its capacity to veil our being, and its innate peace and joy emerge from the background of experience.* * *
The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfilment that are inherent within it.
Read less
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The Transparency of Things: Contemplating the Nature of Experience 01/10/2016
by Rupert Spira, Peter Russell
( 184 )
$15.87
The purpose of The Transparency of Things is to look clearly and simply at the nature of experience, without any attempt to change it.
A series of contemplations leads us gently but directly to see that our essential nature is neither a body nor a mind. It is the conscious Presence that is aware of this current experience. As such, it is nothing that can be experienced as an object, and yet it is undeniably present.
However, these contemplations go much further than this. As we take our stand knowingly as this conscious Presence that we always already are, and reconsider the objects of the body, mind, and world, we find that they do not simply appear to this Presence; they appear within it. And further exploration reveals that they do not simply appear within this Presence but as this Presence.
Finally, we are led to see that it is in fact this very Presence that takes the shape of our experience from moment to moment while always remaining only itself. We see that our experience is and has only ever been one seamless totality, with no separate entities, objects, or parts anywhere to be found.
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Presence, Volume I: The Art of Peace and Happiness 01/12/2016
by Rupert Spira, John J. Prendergast
( 112 )
$16.41
Your self, aware presence, knows no resistance to any appearance and, as such, is happiness itself; like the empty space of a room, it cannot be disturbed and is, therefore, peace itself; like this page, it is intimately one with whatever appears on it and is thus love itself; and like water that is not affected by the shape of a wave, it is pure freedom. Causeless joy, imperturbable peace, love that knows no opposite, and freedom at the heart of all experience…this is your ever-present nature under all circumstances.
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Presence, Volume II: The Intimacy of All Experience 01/10/2016
by Rupert Spira
( 71 )
$16.08
All that is known is experiencing, and experiencing is not divided into one part (an inside self) that experiences and another part (an outside object, other, or world) that is experienced. Experiencing is seamless and intimate, made of “knowing” or awareness alone. This intimacy, in which there is no room for selves, objects, or others, is love itself. It lies at the heart of all experience, completely available under all circumstances.
Read less
Other Formats:: Paperback
by Rupert Spira
( 115 )
$15.80
Being Myself is a contemplative exploration of the essential nature of our self.
Everyone has the sense of ‘being myself,' but not everyone knows their self clearly. In most cases, our sense of self is mixed up with the content of experience and, as a result, its natural condition of peace and happiness is veiled. Through investigation and analogy, the meditations in this collection take us back to our true nature again and again, until we begin to find our self naturally and effortlessly established there, as that. In time, experience loses its capacity to veil our being, and its innate peace and joy emerge from the background of experience.* * *
The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfilment that are inherent within it.
Read less
Other Formats:: Paperback
includes tax, if applicable
Buy now with 1-Click ®
Sold by: Amazon Australia Services, Inc.
The Transparency of Things: Contemplating the Nature of Experience 01/10/2016
by Rupert Spira, Peter Russell
( 184 )
$15.87
The purpose of The Transparency of Things is to look clearly and simply at the nature of experience, without any attempt to change it.
A series of contemplations leads us gently but directly to see that our essential nature is neither a body nor a mind. It is the conscious Presence that is aware of this current experience. As such, it is nothing that can be experienced as an object, and yet it is undeniably present.
However, these contemplations go much further than this. As we take our stand knowingly as this conscious Presence that we always already are, and reconsider the objects of the body, mind, and world, we find that they do not simply appear to this Presence; they appear within it. And further exploration reveals that they do not simply appear within this Presence but as this Presence.
Finally, we are led to see that it is in fact this very Presence that takes the shape of our experience from moment to moment while always remaining only itself. We see that our experience is and has only ever been one seamless totality, with no separate entities, objects, or parts anywhere to be found.
Read less
Other Formats:: Paperback
includes tax, if applicable
Buy now with 1-Click ®
Sold by: Amazon Australia Services, Inc.
This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.Read for Free
Presence, Volume I: The Art of Peace and Happiness 01/12/2016
by Rupert Spira, John J. Prendergast
( 112 )
$16.41
Your self, aware presence, knows no resistance to any appearance and, as such, is happiness itself; like the empty space of a room, it cannot be disturbed and is, therefore, peace itself; like this page, it is intimately one with whatever appears on it and is thus love itself; and like water that is not affected by the shape of a wave, it is pure freedom. Causeless joy, imperturbable peace, love that knows no opposite, and freedom at the heart of all experience…this is your ever-present nature under all circumstances.
Read less
Other Formats:: Paperback
includes tax, if applicable
Buy now with 1-Click ®
Sold by: Amazon Australia Services, Inc.
This title and over 1 million more available with Kindle Unlimited.Read for Free
Presence, Volume II: The Intimacy of All Experience 01/10/2016
by Rupert Spira
( 71 )
$16.08
All that is known is experiencing, and experiencing is not divided into one part (an inside self) that experiences and another part (an outside object, other, or world) that is experienced. Experiencing is seamless and intimate, made of “knowing” or awareness alone. This intimacy, in which there is no room for selves, objects, or others, is love itself. It lies at the heart of all experience, completely available under all circumstances.
Read less
Other Formats:: Paperback
====
Being Myself (The Essence of Meditation Series) Kindle Edition
by Rupert Spira (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.8 out of 5 stars 115 ratings
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Being Myself is a contemplative exploration of the essential nature of our self.
Everyone has the sense of ‘being myself,' but not everyone knows their self clearly. In most cases, our sense of self is mixed up with the content of experience and, as a result, its natural condition of peace and happiness is veiled. Through investigation and analogy, the meditations in this collection take us back to our true nature again and again, until we begin to find our self naturally and effortlessly established there, as that. In time, experience loses its capacity to veil our being, and its innate peace and joy emerge from the background of experience.
* * *
The Essence of Meditation Series presents meditations on the essential, non-dual understanding that lies at the heart of all the great religious and spiritual traditions, compiled from contemplations led by Rupert Spira at his meetings and retreats. This simple, contemplative approach, which encourages a clear seeing of one’s experience rather than any kind of effort or discipline, leads the reader to an experiential understanding of their own essential being and the peace and fulfilment that are inherent within it.
Read less
Print length
82 pages
Book Description
Following in the footsteps of Being Aware of Being Aware, Being Myself marks the second addition to renowned spiritual teacher Rupert Spira's The Essence of Meditation Series. In this transformational work, Spira further delves into the nature of consciousness, self-awareness, and what it means to be human. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
About the Author
From an early age Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen he learnt to meditate, and began a twenty-year period of study and practice in the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmananda Krishnamenon, the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism (which he had received from his teacher, Jean Klein), and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience. Rupert lives in the UK and holds regular meetings and retreats in Europe and the USA. www.rupertspira.com. --This text refers to the paperback edition.
Product details
ASIN : B08WHY2VPF
Publisher : Sahaja (1 September 2021)
Language : English
File size : 2189 KB
Customer Reviews: 4.8 out of 5 stars 115 ratings
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Rupert Spira
From an early age Rupert Spira was deeply interested in the nature of reality. At the age of seventeen he learnt to meditate, and began a twenty-year period of study and practice in the classical Advaita Vedanta tradition under the guidance of Dr. Francis Roles and Shantananda Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of the north of India. During this time he immersed himself in the teachings of P. D. Ouspensky, Krishnamurti, Rumi, Ramana Maharshi, Nisargadatta and Robert Adams, until he met his teacher, Francis Lucille, in 1997. Francis introduced Rupert to the Direct Path teachings of Atmananda Krishnamenon, the Tantric tradition of Kashmir Shaivism (which he had received from his teacher, Jean Klein), and, more importantly, directly indicated to him the true nature of experience. Rupert lives in the UK and holds regular meetings and retreats in Europe and the USA.
www.rupertspira.com
======
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4.8 out of 5 stars
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Stan
1.0 out of 5 stars Saving you £7
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 22 January 2022
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You are not your thoughts or feelings. Your original true self is awareness. This book is just an endless repetition of this statement. It’s that simple. Don’t waste your money.
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Corey G Harris
4.0 out of 5 stars A good read
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 5 December 2021
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Much closer to the truth than many books I've read. The authors style is easy to read and very engaging
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Elaine Ross
5.0 out of 5 stars Just the best!
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 3 April 2022
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I love this book. Rupert shares the truth so easily!
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Client d'Amazon
3.0 out of 5 stars Hard read
Reviewed in Canada on 29 September 2021
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Besoin de beaucoup de concentration pour une française à lire ce livre
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Magali H
5.0 out of 5 stars One of the few MUST READ on non duality
Reviewed in France on 5 January 2022
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This is a true gift, a diamond that has been nourrishing my meditations for weeks. It is written in very simple words and it goes straight to the point. The discovery of Rupert's teachings has been a life changer for me and this book is my favorite one.
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Being Myself (The Essence of Meditation Series)
by Rupert Spira (Goodreads Author)
4.74 · Rating details · 62 ratings · 7 reviews
Average rating4.74 · Rating details · 62 ratings · 7 reviews
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Michael Anasakta
Nov 26, 2021Michael Anasakta rated it it was amazing
An Exceptional Insight
After reading this and thinking on the depth of its contents, I struggle to speak or think. Indeed I don't wish to do either, but rather rest in love and joy. ...more
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Sherry
Mar 12, 2022Sherry rated it really liked it
Shelves: advaita-vedanta, meditation, owned, gift-somebody-loves-me, read-in-2022
4.5 it’s very challenging to rate this as I wouldn’t want to be seen as rating his philosophy. This is my fifth book by Spira and the teaching is direct and easy to understand, though I admit to some confusion in the beginning of starting my reading journey with his books, especially with the teaching about God in you, connecting the “I” of God with the “I” of self being one and the same. I still struggle with the ‘knowing’ of this teaching. But this ground covers the same ground as in previous books and of his books I think Being Aware of Being Aware was the very best for me and a good starting point for Spira’s teachings. This one would be a good starter as well, I suppose, and it’s likely that had I read this first I may have been blown away. Still, very good stuff, and very accessible, so I highly recommend to someone first approaching his teachings. (less)
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Theo Gonella
Dec 13, 2021Theo Gonella rated it it was amazing
The simpler way to find your inner self and rest in its infinite peace. Simplicity is reflected in the writing and narrative. Everyone can easily read this bold book, just as everyone has the sense of the “I am”. God, love, finite and finite are addressed, and the perennial philosophy solved.
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Pam Reeves
Feb 15, 2022Pam Reeves rated it it was amazing
Grateful
To try to capture what Rupert Spira‘s books do for me would be to try to capture the definition of God in words. It just simply can’t be done. The closest I can get to a description is that I have a sense of having found my true home, the ultimate place of my serenity, Heaven. It is amazing how something so profound is really so simple. Something seemingly so far out of our grasp is actually right here with us, in us. I am thankful to Rupert Spira for sharing such simple and beautiful wisdom and truth. (less)
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Corey G Harris
Dec 05, 2021Corey G Harris rated it really liked it
A good read
Much closer to the truth than many books I've read. The authors style is easy to read and very engaging (less)
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SAT CHIT ANANDA
Dec 25, 2021SAT CHIT ANANDA rated it it was amazing
Shelves: favorites
Brilliant. Simple. Beautiful.
A masterpiece.
Sat. Chit. Ananda.
